Swim test - Have I been doing it wrong?

jimmy augustine

So, after way too many swim tests over the past couple of years, I am getting ready for another one today. Oddly enough I was actually reading the instructions today and realized that I might be doing this wrong.

The instructions read: After the warm-up, swim 1000 yards/meters at a constant pace and good effort, as if racing.

I have always gone 100% full out on this. Not a good effort, but at a "being chased by a shark" effort.

When yall swim test, do you go as hard as you can?

Mark Cardinale

@Jimmy - I'm with you.  I always go full throttle just like when doing an FTP test or 5K run test.  When i'm finished i'm panting at the end of the pool.  Maybe what the instructions are speaking to is to not start too hard with a pace that falls off dramatically during the course of the test.  I'm interested to hear feedback from others as well.

Mike Roberts

JA, I treat it like the first leg of a tri, not a swim race. Full throttle for a few hundred, ease into a high aerobic, smooth pace, kick and speed up the last 100. The numbers I get from that make my subsequent T-pace WKOs plenty tough.

David Leventhal

Jimmy - I test the way you do...all out effort (same mindset I have for a 5k test or an FTP test). My thought process is that if I can pick up a few seconds on my average 100 yards or 100 meters that gives me a new benchmark for my training (i.e. if you want to swim fast...you've got to swim fast).

I don't test close to a race (<3-4 weeks out) because I want go into a race with a swim strategy that I know works for me. <br />
Just my 2 cents....curious to hear what people who really know what the heck they're doing have to say!

Scott Giljum

I guess I always read it to mean to make sure your effort across the swim stays even or gets stronger (basically, avoid the I went out too fast blow up). With that in mind I usually try to start hard to get in a groove, and then try to crank it up a bit each 100 after I hit the 500 or so point. And yeah, by the end I am pretty gassed for a bit.

William Jenks

If you're a decent swimmer, I think it's most useful as an all out swim...or at least as all out as you can do it without significant slowing. In that sense, I read it the same as Scott.

Al Truscott

You should be gasping for air, unable to swim another stroke when you are done. But at a constant pace, so you don't burn out too son and leave time on the table (in the pool?) Meaning, the effort level ratchets up thru out the test, allowing you to swim at the same pace.

MattAaronson

I go all out. By the end I am brutalized.

Dawn Cass

I go all out as well...similar to the other tests on FTP or VDot....similar to others. Trying to maintain constant speed so think it's similar to what you are doing.

Mark Maurer

My first lap is usually the fastest by a little then I settle in and swim as hard as I can for the rest. I think the idea is to swim steady and not allow down like the others have said; however, I'm toast at the end.